24/02/2019
Czy wiecie jak narodziła się tradycja Afternoon Tea/ five o’clock ?
Doskonale znana nam tradycja picia popołudniowej herbatki jest prawdopodobnie najbardziej kwintesencyjnym angielskim obyczajem. Jest to stosunkowo młoda tradycja, zapoczątkowana przez Księżną Anna Maria Russell w 1840 roku. Księżna bowiem czuła wyraźny niedosyt, w których to czasach zwyczajowo jadało się śniadanie rano oraz obiad o ósmej wieczorem. Prosiła więc, aby do jej prywatnej komnaty późnym popołudniem przynoszono tacę z herbatą, kanapkami oraz ciastem. Stało to się jej zwyczajem i zaczęła zapraszać przyjaciół na tą małą popołudniową przyjemność.
Z czasem przerwa na herbatkę stała się modnym towarzyskim wydarzeniem. W 1880 roku damy z wyższych sfer oraz arystokratki przebierały się w długie suknie, zakładały rękawiczki oraz kapelusze specjalnie na tą okazję. Popołudniowa herbatka była zwykle serwowana w tak zwanej bawialni (salonie) między czwartą a piątą po południu.
Our students are encouraged to read an english version below :)
Afternoon Tea
by Ben Johnson
“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
Henry James
Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. Whilst the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II and his wife the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared.
Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o’clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o’clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.
This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880’s upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o’clock.
Afternoon Tea HUK
Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches (including of course thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones served with clotted cream and preserves. Cakes and pastries are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.
Nowadays however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea, usually produced using a teabag. Sacrilege!
To experience the best of the afternoon tea tradition, indulge yourself with a trip to one of London’s finest hotels or visit a quaint tearoom in the west country. The Devonshire Cream Tea is famous world wide and consists of scones, strawberry jam and the vital ingredient, Devon clotted cream, as well as cups of hot sweet tea served in china teacups. Many of the other counties in England’s west country also claim the best cream teas: Dorset, Cornwall and Somerset.
Źródło tekstu: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Afternoon-Tea/
